The Jacksonville Jaguars will be looking for their first win since Week 1 as they travel north to take on a Baltimore Ravens team that sees a grand opportunity to push for a postseason berth.

With these teams being on opposite ends of the spectrum recordwise and there being a talent discrepancy, many feel the Jags are up for another beatdown like fans witnessed in Week 14. However, the Jags have also shown that they can hang with the big boys on occasions, so things could get interesting if they bring the right mindset and the Ravens underestimate them.

To get a little more familiar with the team heading into Sunday’s game, we sat down with Ravens Wire managing editor Matthew Stevens for a Q&A. Here are five burning questions he was kind enough to answer about the Ravens, who have some interesting history with the Jags:

Lamar Jackson is a player who gets mentioned a lot in Jacksonville after the team passed on him for Taven Bryan in 2018. Obviously, 2019 was huge for him, but how has he looked this season?

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Matthew Stevens: Jackson has regressed in some areas this season compared to last year, but I think you’re starting to see him sort through stuff in recent weeks, and we’re getting more glimpses of the 2019 version once again. He still has a ways to go as a passer — sometimes missing open receivers, throwing late, targeting the same two guys seemingly regardless of the situation, and not always making the best decision when it comes to whether he should run or not. On the other hand, that’s to be expected for such a young player who just finally surpassed 32 career starts.

While Jackson still needs a little polishing to consistently become one of the league’s best passers, he makes up for it with pure athleticism. When things aren’t working for him or the offense as a whole, he has something no other quarterback has to this degree: an ability to score a touchdown from any part of the field at any time. It’s bailed him out of bad spots, carried the team in some games and has absolutely been the reason they’ve won some games, including last week’s tilt against the Browns.

Continuing with individuals on the Ravens’ roster, Baltimore has two former Jags stars on their roster in Calais Campbell and Yannick Ngakoue. How have they looked this season, and do you think Ngakoue gets re-signed next season?

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MS: Campbell has been everything he was advertised to be. He’s a great run stopper with the ability to get into the backfield and harass quarterbacks. Perhaps more importantly, he’s been a vocal leader for this defense.

While they weren’t short on talent previously, Baltimore’s defense hasn’t had that one obvious leader who everyone respects and listens to in quite some time. That’s helped them during a season in which they’ve been destroyed with injuries and a COVID-19 outbreak.

Ngakoue is still trying to wrap his head around the Ravens’ defensive scheme. It might not be the most complex defense in the league, but under defensive coordinator Don Martindale, the players have a shocking amount of freedom to read what’s happening on the field and adjust their play to counter it. But of course, that truly comes when a player knows what everyone else around him is supposed to be doing and how their own changes could create holes elsewhere.

We’re starting to see Ngakoue better understand everything around him and play from muscle memory rather than needing to think about what he’s doing before doing it. As a result, Ngakoue has been fingertips away from sacks for the last few games, even though it isn’t reflected in the stats. My guess is that by the end of the season, Ngakoue will improve enough to turn those near-sacks into actual sacks and he’ll truly excel.

The Ravens don’t pull off big trades and let those guys walk, so Ngakoue seems to be in the team’s plans moving forward. Whether he’s re-signed or they tag him is another question that probably has more to do with Ngakoue’s asking price than anything else. But if Ngakoue can increase his sack count in these next few weeks, Baltimore’s dollar count will likely go up accordingly.

Who are some under-the-radar players to watch from the Ravens’ offense and defense?

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MS: Defensively, linebacker Chris Board has been earning rave reviews lately, and his snap share has increased alongside it. But the one guy I’ve regularly mentioned when asked this question this year has been safety DeShon Elliott.

 After the Earl Thomas debacle, Elliott was thrust into the starting role. I had my doubts about Elliott’s ability to stay healthy and how big of a drop we’d see in coverage. While there is a difference between Elliott and Thomas in coverage, I think Elliott more than makes up for it with his physicality. He’s a heat-seeking missile who isn’t afraid to lower a shoulder and destroy someone nearly every week, which when compared to Thomas getting stiff-armed down the sideline for big gains last season, is a breath of fresh air on this defense. I guarantee the wide receivers, running backs, and tight ends will all have an eye on where No. 32 is at when they make a catch.

Offensively, I’m going all in on J.K. Dobbins. As a second-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Dobbins isn’t exactly an under-the-radar name at this point, but picking anyone else with a lesser name isn’t going to get anyone worthy of this type of praise. I fully expected Dobbins to supplant Mark Ingram as the top back by about midseason and he hasn’t disappointed. The only reason he isn’t quite there yet has been because of an unwillingness by the coaching staff to feed him more and because fellow running back Gus Edwards is playing great football, too.

Dobbins is really hitting his stride. He’s got great acceleration to the hole, showing plenty of burst from the second he touches the ball through to the second level. When he’s there, he’s got the speed to avoid bigger defenders and the bulk to run over smaller ones. With an inconsistent offensive line this season, Dobbins’ well-rounded skill set is a big part of the reason he has so many big runs compared to last year when the run game did extremely well but was more of a product of an outstanding offensive line. He’s going to be a special player, especially on this team, so get glimpses of him now.

With the Jags currently searching for a general manager, this seems like a good time to ask about one person who could be a candidate in Ravens director of player personnel Joe Hortiz. What are your thoughts on the job he’s done in Baltimore as of late?

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MS: Hortiz has done an outstanding job, as has everyone in the scouting department and front office. Granted, Baltimore doesn’t exactly talk a lot about these guys, but I don’t think you have the type of sustained success in the draft, free agency and midseason trades without a guy like Hortiz doing an outstanding job. Then again, that’s probably why former Ravens scouts and executives can be found all over the league.

With Jacksonville looking for a new general manager, I’d think Hortiz would have to be on their list if he’s interested in interviewing at all. Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti has talked quite a bit in recent years about the need to retain more of their own scouts and front office staff, and they’ve made quite a few moves in the offseason to give guys new job titles and promotions where appropriate.

Though Eric DeCosta’s promotion to general manager likely caps the top of any career ascension here in Baltimore. A guy like Hortiz should have a pretty clear path in front of him with the Ravens and might not jump at just any.

What are your predictions for the game?

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MS: With how beat up Baltimore is right now, this game could be far more interesting than it seems on paper. But the reality is that the Ravens are one of the most talented teams in the NFL, and though they haven’t played like it often this season, we’ve seen glimpses from both the offense and defense to show they should be considered Super Bowl contenders still.

Barring injuries derailing this team even more or them coming out flat after a very tough and physical game against Cleveland, Jacksonville is simply standing in their way. I’d expect the Ravens to be aggressive on defense, both to get Ngakoue some opportunities for revenge against his former team and as a way of beating up whoever starts at quarterback.

Offensively, it probably makes far more sense to lean on the rushing attack to get the job done. That’s especially poignant with three wide receivers on the Reserve/COVID-19 list and unable to practice this week, alongside Baltimore’s woes throwing the football as a whole.

The fear of Lamar Jackson gets the Jaguars’ players second-guessing things and sitting on plays waiting for Jackson to make a move, making the Ravens’ job a lot easier. If and when Jacksonville decides to stack the box and move to full zone coverage, Mark Andrews and Willie Snead should be able to get open and create big plays down the field. If the Jaguars line up in man (as the Browns did on Monday) Jackson would be in line for 150 rushing yards. Ravens 31, Jaguars 13